Olivier Dubois is, officially in any case, the only Frenchman held hostage in the world. Our colleague, aged 47, works for Release, Point and Young Africa. He was kidnapped 10 months ago as he was preparing to interview a jihadist leader in the Gao area in northern Mali.
>> Mali: Olivier Dubois, the last French hostage in the world
His abduction was claimed a month later, in a video posted on social networks, by the GSIM, this group linked to Al Qaeda. We saw Olivier Dubois confirm his abduction. And since then nothing: no news. Neither by the kidnappers, nor by the public authorities. The area, as we know, is dangerous. The Radio France reporters who go there, like Omar Ouahmane, know this. And Olivier Dubois knew it too. But going to the field is the only solution to inform correctly. And in this region known as the three borders between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the risk is always present. We remember the death of our two colleagues from Radio France Internationale Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon in 2013, in Kidal, a little further north. The working conditions of Malian journalists are also very complicated.
On Tuesday February 8, at the initiative of the Reporters sans Frontières association, the major French audiovisual media will therefore all broadcast messages of support: the Radio France channels (franceinfo, France Inter, France Culture) and also France Télévisions, France 24, Radio France Internationale, TF1, M6, Arte. And then there is also the mobilization of civil society. With banners of support now in 16 town halls of large cities, such as Marseille, Paris, Lyon, Lille or Bordeaux.
300!
So many days of silence regarding the situation of Olivier Dubois,
so many days of absence for his family, his friends and all the people near or far who miss him.
Too many days. #FreeOlivierDubois pic.twitter.com/nXGnLSH4O2— Support for Olivier Dubois – #FreeOlivierDubois (@FreeOlivierDub1) February 1, 2022
Very special mobilization also in Avignon where our colleague did his secondary studies. Last month, 200 people had already gathered in front of the Lycée Mistral where Olivier Dubois obtained his baccalaureate. For its part, the journalist’s family launched a petition last month which is approaching 50,000 signatures. To obviously demand his release and also to ask for more transparency and mobilization on the part of the French and Malian authorities. The family of Olivier Dubois denounced “unbearable silence” of the French government. Emmanuel Macron responded a few days later by declaring himself “fully mobilized” on the subject.
The concern is that the political context of high tension between Paris and Bamako does not help. Relations have been at loggerheads since the coup in Mali and the decision of the military junta to expel the French ambassador. The future of the Barkhane operation is even posed, an arbitration should be rendered within ten days. A redeployment to neighboring Niger is envisaged. It is therefore obvious that the atmosphere is not one of cooperation between the two capitals to move this file forward.
At the same time, as we know, in hostage cases, the public authorities are always very discreet. “The main law is silence”recalled the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian last month.